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What will it take to get away from these recurrent overrides in Brookline? Staff salaries account for 87.5% of the 2027 schools budget. It will be impossible to balance the budget on a sustainable basis without coming to grips with compensation issues. According to the Town's own E&RSC Report, school salaries at virtually all levels of seniority are higher in Brookline than in comparable districts. Moreover, these salaries have increased in many cases much faster than inflation, due to the combined impact of (a) “step” increases for the half of teachers still climbing the ladder of seniority and (b) cost of living adjustments. The Report notes that, in projecting salaries for 2027-2029, Brookline Schools management assumed annual increases of 5% on a constant FTE basis. 5% is way above Brookline’s ability to reliably raise revenue each year and further exacerbates the budget problem. The Report also states that Brookline’s contribution to staff health benefits is 83% of the cost, exceeding that of comparable districts, in many cases by a lot. It identified increases in the cost of health benefits as a main sources of budget stress, year after year. The E&RSC stated explicitly that the schools’ salary structure and salary increases, compounded by Brookline’s high level of contribution to health benefits, are “unsustainable” and should not be accepted as “givens.” Going to the levels of comparable districts would save many millions of dollars each year. Consequently, the Study Committee urged Brookline's Select Board to reduce the amount of the override, but the Select Board ignored this advice, and barely even discussed compensation issues. So, this override of $23.25m — the largest ever in Massachusetts — is based on projections that assume the perpetuation of compensation structures that the independent experts on the E&RSC warned the Select Board are “unsustainable." Collective bargaining is now underway. If the proposed override passes, all the money needed to sustain the unsustainable status quo will be available, at the expense of overburdened taxpayers. The unions would be foolish not to demand it, and the critics might say that the School Committee is risking a teacher's strike if they negotiate to withhold it. The incentives are completely wrong. To align the incentives properly, this override must be defeated. The School Committee would then be empowered to negotiate fair but fiscally responsible contracts that are more in line with those of comparable districts; the unions would know that there are real constraints on the availability of resources. The Select Board failed to act, despite the sound advice of the
E&RSC, but you can correct that mistake by voting NO on this override and help Brookline to find a sustainable path for everyone. Let's fix this problem through responsible action; not by just waiting listlessly for the next override: Let your voice be heard this time. VOTE NO on Question 1.
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